Regular readers of this blog know that when I’m not writing about healthcare-related subjects, school choice is my next most favorite topic. The reason is simple – school choice is the key to a good education for children of all socioeconomic levels. And a good education is the key to a productive future for everyone.

Former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has called school choice “the civil rights issue of our times.” Low-income families of all races have discovered that school choice allows their children to escape poverty and achieve the American dream. That issue alone is convincing more and more Democrats into voting Republican.

The biggest obstacle for advocates of school choice is the teachers unions. The teachers unions realize school choice is an existential threat to their livelihoods. So it’s no surprise they fight back against school choice with every fiber of their being. What is a surprise, however, is when they send their own children to private schools.

Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates has been at the forefront of the battle against school choice. The Wall Street Journal editorial board says she has called school choice racist and made it her mission to kill an Illinois scholarship program for low-income children.

WSJ says, “So how did Ms. Gates try to explain herself this week after press reports that she has enrolled her son in a private Catholic high school? “Dear Union Sibling,” began her email to fellow teachers. She said that black students have “limited” options on the city’s south and west sides: “It forced us to send our son, after years of attending a public school, to a private high school so he could live out his dream of being a soccer player while also having a curriculum that can meet his social and emotional needs.”

In other words, “Public school for thee, but not for me!” Oh, the hypocrisy! It’s no surprise that she would desire to do what’s best for her child – that’s what every parent should want! But how can she justify doing this for her child but opposing measures like school choice that make it possible for everyone’s child?

The school where her son is enrolled reportedly costs her $16,000 a year. What about those who can’t afford such a school? Illinois’ Invest in Kids program funds about 9,000 scholarships, and last year it had 31,000 applications. But the program is scheduled to sunset, and that’s exactly what the teachers unions have demanded.

She seems to understand the problem. Her own email says, “Here is the truth: If you are a Black family living in a Black community, high-quality neighborhood schools have been the dream, not the reality.” Yet she won’t be a part of the solution – advocating school choice – because her union job demands she oppose school choice. For some schools on the south side of Chicago, the percentage of students who can read or do math at grade level is in the single digits. But then Gates insists, as the teachers unions always do, that the answer is spending yet more money to “undo the decades of systemic underinvestment.”

WSJ tells us the operating budget for the Chicago public schools has grown to $8.5 billion in 2024, from $6.3 billion in 2020, according to the Illinois Policy Institute. Yet enrollment is down 80,000 students from a decade ago, and many schools are underutilized.  Clearly, throwing more money at a failed system is no solution.

The problem is failing public schools and teachers unions are a big part of that problem. The solution is school choice, and most states are realizing this and making it more available. Florida recently passed legislation that permits every Florida student, regardless of their economic status, to have school vouchers worth $8,000 to use to pay for private or parochial schools.

Ms. Gates understands the problem, but her job makes her blind to the solution. Maybe it’s time she looked a little closer in the mirror.